All I have to add with the bridge-loan to the auto industry going down in flames in large part because of senators like Shelby, Sessions, and Corker: What they did was tantamount to economic treason directed at not only labor unions, but those honest hardworking members of it. You know, the people who get up each and everyday, and go to work. The workers who stand on assembly lines making the cars that became the backbone of our industrial industry.
Not only will they be affected but the suppliers to these companies as well. No one truly realizes how many jobs will go up in smoke. Some do fear that should these companies go out of business it will send us into an actual depression and that is what many of us do fear. Then again, the good old GOP is great at only giving us fear as evident throughout these past eight years.
These miscreant senators would rather protect foreign automakers within their own states and bring down the wages of American workers and now since they sunk this bill, they just fired them completely.
This is the GOP’s Christmas present to these auto workers. I cannot even fathom being in their shoes at this point. To borrow some of the vulgarity coming from the disgraced Governor, Rod Blagojevich, if I were these auto workers, I would say, “Bleep you, GOP!” Just to touch upon the Blagojevich case, it was seen by some in the GOP as being a rough-patch for Democrats.
When it comes to bread-and-butter issues such as jobs, those that will now be losing their jobs will say, “Blagojevich who?”
With a volatile stock market lately which has not only depressed the economy, but the psyche of the American people, Senator Harry Reid had this to say as reported by the AP, "I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not going to be a pleasant sight."
While the AP reported that some Democrats bailed, I do blame the GOP in large part because they led this charge against American companies and their workers.
You know, I am not a fan of corporate executives, but I have to give credit to the execs of the Big-Three as they came back to Washington, D.C. with detailed plans as they again came before congress pleading to keep their doors open. This was not done by the CEOs of any of the financial institutions. No, in that case, congress realized the urgency and signed over $700 billion of our tax dollars.
While some faulted bailout fatigue as being one of the major reasons for the failure of this bill to be passed, in this case, and with those workers in mind, I like others were in favor of it. In fact a poll was taken where 46 percent of Americans were in favor of this bridge-loan.
The failure of this bill could not have come at a worse time when it was reported today, that jobless claims jumped to a 26-year high. Exactly, what were these senators thinking? Clearly, they were not thinking at all of the economic health of this country. You know the country they swore to protect as they took their oaths of office.
As the AP also reported, "He (Mitch McConnell) and other Republicans said wages and benefits for employees of Detroit's Big Three should be renegotiated to bring them in line with those paid by Japanese carmakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan in the United States." Maybe, just maybe we should have supported the expansion of our American automakers instead of inviting these foreign automakers into this country to do business.
This is where I do support protectionism in the markets. I guess, Toyota, Honda and Nissan are tantamount to Wal-Mart as far as wages paid to workers and discouraging their employees from forming unions. Unions do serve a purpose and that is to protect our American work force.
In sinking this bill those who voted no to it, attacked the benefits our workers are receiving and their salaries. To these senators, you have by far better salaries and health benefits than these workers. Yet you attacked them for their hard-earned wages and benefits? Oh and it is we the people who pay your salaries along with the benefits that go with it. “Bleep you!”
While these senators abhor unions, one must think of the congress as being one big union in itself. They have a great collective bargaining table where they time-after-time vote themselves pay raises and make sure their health benefits are taken care of. Will congress this year vote themselves yet another pay raise, if so, “Bleep them!”
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
